


romcom beginnings and telenovela endings.

by melbopo



Series: SHAUM S2 to S3 Hiatus Prompts [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Brief references to past Izzy/Maia and Clary/Simon, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Incorrect Pronoun Use, Nonbinary Lesbian Clary Fray, Not Beta Read, Pre-Relationship, Stalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-06 21:43:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12219513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melbopo/pseuds/melbopo
Summary: It feels like the start of a cheesy romcom when the pretty redhead that smiled at Izzy earlier in the day, reappears and asks a cute favor from her. And Izzy doesn't mind letting them share her table while they wait for their phone to charge nor does she mind pretending they're on a date to discourage a potential stalker, but when the stalker turns out to be their sibling back from the dead, Izzy feels like she's suddenly in a telenovela.~~~~~for the sh au mondays prompt: fake/pretend dating





	romcom beginnings and telenovela endings.

**Author's Note:**

> AKA what if i took a major plot point of season 2b and made it into a fake/pretend relationship au???
> 
> For details about the stalking and incorrect pronoun use, please see the endnotes!

There are few ways better to start a good, productive day off than walking into one's favorite coffee shop and finding one's favorite area to sit near an outlet, free of people and close to an outlet - at least in Isabelle’s opinion. She loves sitting at the window at this cafe because of all the natural sunlight that streams in that helps ease the ache of having to do work on such a beautiful day and its view of a small park which allows for the perfect visual distraction. When her biology assignment has a particularly complicated question, she loves to just zone out at the people and trees in the park as she thinks through different solution paths.

That positive feeling is Isabelle's justification for smiling at the cute long haired redhead with contrasting pink tinted cream skin, sketching the water fountain statue from the bench in front of the cafe, when they make eye contact as they get up to leave. Their sweet smile in response warms Isabelle, adding to the good start of her day. She continues to ride that feeling, fueling her focus to finish a long problem set for biology and a reading reflection essay for gender studies over the next three hours before she decides to call it day on her homework. Not quite ready to leave her spot at the coffeeshop and all its good energy, she orders a drink and a snack to enjoy while reading her book club book,  _ To Kill a Mockingbird _ .

Isabelle has just sat back down with her chai and chocolate chip cookie when the redhead from earlier bursts into the cafe, looking slightly uneasy and almost scared. Their expression is pretty much the opposite of what it was when they smiled at Isabelle which piques her interest as to what the source of the change is. They're shoulders relax when they make eye contact again with Isabelle, completely capturing her interest as they walk towards her table. Isabelle's positive that her confusion is written all over her face for the cute red head smiles the biggest, most friendly smile Isabelle has not only ever seen directed at her, but ever seen in general.

The moment they are within indoor conversational voice distance of about a foot, they ask in a bubbly voice, that once again contrasts with their frightened facial expression when they first entered the cafe, "can I ask a really big favor from you?"

Isabelle sizes up the complete stranger in front of her: they're about the same height as her but at least ten pounds lighter and probably without the same extensive martial arts training that Isabelle's black belt required. She figures the most damage this person could do to her is break her heart and that's a risk she is apparently willing to take for she responds with a smug smile, "I don't know, can you?"

Their laugh is immediate and light, fueling her smile. " _ May _ I ask you for a really big favor?" Isabelle gestures at the empty seat across from her at the two person table in lieu of a verbal response. Their face becomes slightly more serious as they sit down, glancing behind them for a moment before leaning forward slightly, "would you mind pretending to be on a date with me while I charge my dead phone? I think this man might be following me and I just want to feel safe while I wait for my phone to charge so I can cancel my meeting with my advisor this afternoon and get a Lyft ride home."

Isabelle nods her understanding at the request, having been in similar uncomfortable and unsafe situations herself where she longed for a friendly face to see her and offer some semblance of comfort. One thing hangs her up though, "absolutely, do you have a charger on you? Also, do we really need to pretend to be dating?" 

The redhead swings their bag from their back to their front, opening the top flap to reveal the sketch book from earlier, a jumbled pile of different writing utensils, a wallet, and white cords. They take out the phone charger with a little shake in response before plugging the prongs into the open outlet under the table and the cord into their black screened phone, its screen flashing an empty battery silhouette that slowly begins to fill. "Just in case the guy comes in during the ten minutes or so it takes me to charge my phone, maybe if they see us together, they'll just leave."

"That makes sense... though I do like to know the name of person that I'm on a date with. I'm Izzy and prefer she/her pronouns." Izzy offers her hand cordially, not quite sure the correct protocol for handling this sort of situation.

Their eyes light up at the mention of pronouns and Izzy feels like she's heading in a good direction. Clarifying her pronouns is something she adapted into practice when a previous partner of her began identifying as gender fluid and would state their pronouns with every introduction, sometimes even with people they had met already once before.

The redhead gently shakes Izzy's hand, "Clary and I prefer they/them."

"Nice to meet you Clary," Izzy says as she pulls her hand back, looking down at the soft gray charcoal smudges on her hand from their handshake. Clary blushes when their eyes follow Izzy's line of sight, they pull a package of wet wipes from a different pocket of their bag and offer one to Izzy, "oh sorry! I've been sketching different structure styles around the city in charcoal today. I always manage to get whatever I'm working with all over me so I've started carrying these with me." They say as they give they put the package back into their bag.

"That's fine!" Izzy removes the smudge from her hand quickly and puts the used napkin in her old coffee cup to throw out on her way out. She breaks the chocolate chip cookie in half, taking a bite out of one half while pushing the other half towards Clary. "I actually noticed a little of your fountain sketch when I saw you earlier today - I really liked the more traditionally feminine but still very strong look you gave the water carrier."

Clarry grins at the cookie offering and then even bigger until there are dimples in their cheeks at the drawing compliment, "thank you! This fountain is one of my least favorite sculptures in this town so I'm always changing it slightly in my drawings but I think this might be my favorite version yet." Izzy nods her head side to side, understanding how one could dislike the aesthetics of the fountain while chewing her cookie bites. 

"Oh are you in the queer book club on campus too?" Clary says, their eyes fixed on the copy of  _ To Kill a Mockingbird _ under Izzy's elbow. Izzy nods her head yes as she swallows her cookie, "yes! you aren't?" The book club is relatively small, only a dozen or so people attend the biweekly meetings regularly, so Izzy is positive that she would have remembered seeing someone as cute as Clary there before. 

"No - I have a finance class at that same time but my best friend runs the book club so he keeps me updated and it's practically like I'm in it too." They clarify with a chuckle.

"Oh, you're friends with Simon? He's dating my ex! She actually is the one who convinced me to join the club to support her new partner and encourage me read more books that aren't required reading for class." Izzy says a fond eye roll, as if the concept of expanding her reading horizons is a common conversation topic in her life. 

Clary's eyes light up again, amusement coloring their tone as they say, "Maia is your ex? Simon is one of mine! See, our getting together is perfect romantic comedy material."

"Wait, really?" Izzy's can't help but laugh at their connection. What are the odds that their good friends are not only their exes but also dating each other?

"Hey, my road to identifying as a nonbinary lesbian has been a long, complicated one and he may have been responsible for teaching me the difference between romantic and platonic love." Clary answers lightheartedly with an amused smile.

Izzy shrugs one shoulder up and down, "all that matters is that the road got to a place you feel at ease and comfortable."

Clary's eyes and smile melt into a softer expression at Izzy's warm words and warmer smile, "and I am finally at ease." A moment passes of them just exchanging kind smiles before suddenly Clary visibly tenses. Their grip on the cookie tightens to the point of breaking the small piece that remains on the plate. Without even asking, Izzy knows that Clary just spotted the man they feared was following them.

Izzy's hand quickly reaches across the table to rest on Clary's on the plate, both in attempt to soothe them with a reassuring physical presence and to appear visually more romantic to the outside world. When their hands touch, Clary slightly, flashing Izzy a small smile before a voice with a british accent interrupts the moment, "Clarissa?"

They both turn to face the interruption, Izzy's eyes narrow on the tall man with straight dirty blonde hair that falls just above their eyes with a slightly paler complexion than Clary. They don't even seem to notice Izzy as they stare at Clary, their eyes looking both frantic and watery from relief. Izzy looks to Clary for some sort of cue as to who this person is to them, an uneasy feeling settles over her at the blatant fear in their eyes with the slight pink pigment in their face completely drained. Their voice shakes slightly, stuttering for a second before regaining strength to ask firmly, "h-how do you know my full name?"

“I’m your brother!” The stranger exclaims like it's something they’ve been holding in for a long, long time now and is overcome with joy to release. Clary’s expression flickers with confusion, their eyebrows pulling together as their head moves slightly back, away from the stranger who doesn’t even seem to notice the discomfort for they reiterate their point in the same excited, tone, “it’s me - your brother, Jonathan!”

Clary stays frozen, rigid in their seat but their eyes quickly scan the person claiming to be their brother in front of them. Even at first glance, there are similarities in their appearances like their skin tone and small rounded tip noses. The claim doesn’t seem completely out of left field but still Izzy’s feels oddly helpless, waiting for some sort of sign of what she can do besides sit here and hold Clary’s hand as this unfolds around them. She does have half a mind to tell  _ Jonathan _ to fuck off but Clary doesn’t seem  _ afraid  _ of this person, just confused.

When Jonathan finally registers Clary’s unease, their excitement vanishes and a cold anger takes over their whole body. Their hands tighten into fists and their jaw visibly clench before they ask with clear venom in their words, “did mother really not tell you about me? Does Jocelyn really despise me that much?”

It’s the mention of Jocelyn’s name that seems to thaw Clary a little for they respond immediately, “no, she did.” Their watery eyes trail up and down the person in front of them as if not quite sure how to process their existence right now. “She thinks you’re dead.”

“She told you I was dead?” The laugh that comes from Jonathan’s mouth is hard. “Father does always say that mother’s cleverness is one of the reasons he fell in love with her.” They nod slowly to themselves as this say this, as if putting all the pieces together. They grab the empty chair from a bigger table, sitting themselves closer at Clary and Izzy’s table than either asked for them to. Jonathan takes the quiet as a welcomed sign to continue talking. “Before you were born, Jocelyn demanded a divorce from father but she also demanded that I be put up for adoption because she didn’t want me. Father pleaded for her to let him keep me but she was adamantly against it, so we fled to England and that’s where we’ve been for the past twenty years since.”

A little bit of color comes to Clary’s cheeks, a fire returns to their eyes as they process pieces of this narrative and how it lines up with pieces of their own reality. Jonathan continues, “I didn’t even know I had a sister until recently myself! Father left his journal out in his office, open to a page talking about his daughter’s achievements with a picture of her, with a picture of you.”

Clary clearly hesitates to say or do something in response, opening their mouth partially before closing it again so Jonathan reaches into the big pocket of their coat, pulling out a dark leather bound journal with the name ‘Valentine Morgenstein’ branded into the corner. Clary looks slightly taken aback by the presence of the actual journal but says nothing as Jonathan flicks through the pages before stopping about midway and putting the journal on the table. It’s open to page with a newspaper clipping of a young middle school aged, bright red headed Clary proudly holding up their first place drawing. The words written next to the picture talk about Jocelyn must have changed her last name to Fray instead of her maiden name Fairchild and how proud he is that the artistic talent that runs in his family was passed down to Clarissa too. 

This must be proof enough for Clary for the tears they’ve been on the verge of this whole time begin running down their face. The fingers of the hand not held tightly in Izzy’s hand, traces over the open page of the journal as if trying to absorb all the information not just written down on these pages.

Jonathan starts talking again, fully aware that Clary is on board to a certain extent. “The moment I saw that photo, I knew I  _ had  _ to find you and convince you to come back to England with me. There are so many great university programs for art there - you’re going to love it.”

Clary looks up sharply at this plan, “what? What about my mom? What about Jocelyn?”

“Screw Jocelyn”, Jonathan says with that same venom in their tone from previously. “She never wanted me anyway. We could surprise father. We can be a  _ real  _ family.”

“No - that’s not true.” Clary says with conviction, shaking their head back and forth. “Fath- Valentine told her that you  _ died _ . She thinks you’re dead.” 

“I’m sure that is what she told you but it’s not true.” Jonathan remarks with a cold, fake reassurance that is almost condescending. “Father wouldn’t lie to me.”

“He didn’t even tell you that you had a sister!”

“He didn’t like - he simply kept that information from me. He explained why when I confront him about it, he didn’t want me to be jealous of you because Jocelyn kept you when she didn’t want me.” Jonathan says evenly like this is something that they’ve been rehearsing over and over in their mind. “And I was upset at first, jealous even, but then I realized that we’re  _ family _ and I became so enthralled to find out if you were real!” 

Jonathan puts their hand over Clary’s on the journal, “And I’m so happy that you are and that we can finally be a real family now.”

This is the second time that Jonathan has said the phrase ‘real family’ but Izzy still has no clue what they mean and it, combined with the breaching of personal boundaries, is setting off an alarm in her. She speaks up, “well Jonathan this is a lot for Clary to process and we have an important advising meeting for college to get in an hour, so leave your email so my partner can decide when or if they are ready to reach out.”

Jonathan looks at Izzy like they forgot she was there and her suggestion is not the one they wanted to hear. “She’s my sister of course she wants to see me again - we’re family!”

A response that just reinforces Izzy’s point, Jonathan barely knows anything about their family. Izzy says as calmly as possible, “You don’t know that - you just met Clary. And if you know anything about family, you know the importance of giving them space. I’m not saying Clary isn’t going to contact you but I’m telling you that you must respect whatever decision they make, it’s the least that you owe them as  _ real _ family.” Izzy watches that sink in as they look at Clary before nodding, releasing Clary’s hand to scribbling down an email on the first piece of paper they see on the table.

“Now go.”

“Clarissa here, keep father’s journal -read about how much he loves us  _ both _ .” Jonathan pushes the still open journal towards Clary. “It was such a pleasure to meet you.” Jonathan says with their own teary voice and a tight parting squeeze on Clary’s hand. 

Clary looks up from the journal at Jonathan, still dazed and processing, “yeah… nice to know you’re still alive.”

Jonathan waves to them as they finally leaves and Izzy stays there, holding Clary’s hand as they stare at the email scrawled on the back of the cafe receipt. After about ten minutes of blank silence, Clary comes back from what must be a hurricane of thoughts and feelings, placing the receipt as a bookmark into the leather journal.

“Is there someone you trust that I can take you to?” Izzy asks gently as she can.

Clary nods their head, “I want to see my mom - she needs to know.” 

Clary unplugs their phone and packs up their bag while Izzy packs her homework and books into her bag. She returns their dishes and pauses just outside the door of the cafe, offering her hand to Clary, who looks not quite  _ here _ , as they leave. Izzy leads them to the corner intersection of the park to wait for the Lyft ride Clary requested. 

Clary’s phone beeps to let them know their ride is less than a minute away. They look down at Izzy’s hand, shaking their head slightly as they make to let go of her hand. “I don't want you to feel like you have to escort me home - I’ll be fine. Thank you -I already owe you so much”

Izzy loosens her grip but makes it obvious that she is hesitant to let go completely. “I’ll sleep easier if I see with my own eyes that you made it somewhere safe.”

Clary looks like they want to protest it further but Izzy’s facial expression hardness with stubbornness and Clary sighs in defeat, probably already feeling plenty drained from the activities of the day, before flashing a soft, relieved smile at Izzy. They get in the Lyft ride together, a heavy silence between them, though not because of  _ them  _ but because all this information playing over and over in Clary’s mind. Izzy continues holding their hand, enjoying the occasional squeezes of recognition, quiet thank yous for the grounding tether. 

When the car finally stops, the neighborhood isn’t familiar but the bakery on the corner is at least which makes Izzy feel a little more at ease herself for not accidentally agreeing to go to the upper east side or somewhere completely inconvenient for her. Clary wipes any residual tears from their cheeks as they release a big breathe. When they smile at Izzy, they look less fragmented and more like they’ve already started mending themselves. “This is probably a million times more intense than you ever could have signed up for. Thank you for that… for everything. Can I treat you to dinner sometime to even try to make up for the kindness you showed me?“

Izzy can’t  _ really  _ put her finger on the exact feeling for the reason she says what follows, “Maybe if it was a real date, I could be persuaded.”

It sounds a little wild of an idea even to Izzy’s ears after the day they’ve had but there is something about Clary, about how much care they take in drawing the world around them, in how they were so protective of their mom, and just  _ something _ about them that draws Izzy in and wants to be around, to know better, to explore further, to hopefully kiss.

Clary looks surprised at that statement, taking a moment to look at Izzy and probably wonder how they haven’t managed to scare her off already. They raise one eyebrow with a teasing smile, “I assume that means with no interruptions from estranged siblings that are suddenly back from the dead?”

“Yeah pretty much,” Izzy says with a teasing grin of her own.

Clary pretends to look thoughtful for a moment, one hand on their chin as if deep in thought. “I think I can swing that” they drop their hand as they smile again, “but no promises.”

Izzy nods her head in understanding, after today one really can’t be that sure there aren't any other family secrets waiting in the shadows. “I’m pretty sure I’m free on Thursday but here, enter your number and we can just decide later.” Izzy hands over her cell with the new contact screen open. Clary quickly enters their details before passing the phone back. “I’ll text you so you have my number.”

Clary’s phone pings and they pull it from their pocket, verifying it’s from a new number. They barely repress a full grimace, pulling a slight face at the text that just reads, ‘Clarissa?’ Izzy makes an apologetic face, “too soon?”

“Maybe… but at least I know it’s you. It also reminds me that you practically know my whole family drama. I’m looking forward to learning more about you, family drama and all, on our date.”

Izzy grins, “my family drama might just revival yours…”

“Really?!” Clary sounds surprised and mildly concerned, their eyes going wide and giving them a look that rivals bambi for cuteness. Izzy laughs, shaking her head no. “Not quite - I think you take the crown on that one.” Clary snorts out a soft laugh at that as if still in disbelief of the absurdity of the whole day.

Izzy hesitates with her hands in her back jean pockets, rocking back then forward. “It was nice pretending to date you and I’m excited to go on a real date with you soon Clary.”

“Me too - thanks again for everything today.” Clary says with a final good bye wave before Izzy turns on her heels and walks down the street towards the Brooklyn Bridge, fairly certain that her friend, Magnus, lives a couple of blocks away. She’s in desperate need to share a drink AND about her wild day and Magnus’s place is the perfect place to do both of those things. Clary’s comment about their relationship sounding like the start of a romantic comedy echoes in her mind and she can’t help but chuckle at how a telenovela is the more more accurate genre now.

**Author's Note:**

> Jonathan comes to the US after discovering they might have a sibling, Clary. Then Jonathan stalks Clary until deciding to approach them about being related.  
> Jonathan uses the wrong pronouns when talking about Clary to Izzy.
> 
> l o l i have another fake/dating au planned but I liked the challenge of this fic idea so here it is!! let me if i should add any tags or what you think either here or on tumblr, [@maiababerts](https://maiababerts.tumblr.com/post/165869127781/romcom-beginnings-and-telenovela-endings-a-38k)!!! ty tyty
> 
> (also how obvious is it that i haven't written wlw in a while??)


End file.
